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52 of leaving; though, for that matter, neither Nathan Lindall nor David had taken the  servant’s threat seriously. Whatever could be said of Obid, he was no coward, while,  even if he had been, his devotion to his master would have proved stronger than his  timidity. That day all three worked hard in the fields. Although their muskets were ever within reach, no incident caused any  alarm. And when a second day had likewise passed uneventfully, even Obid Dawkin  grudgingly allowed that maybe the danger  was not so present as he had feared. But on the third morning there was another tale to  tell when Obid, opening the door to fetch  water from the well, dropped his pail and fell  back with a groan that brought the others to  his side. Obid, white-faced, pointed to the stone step outside. There in the first ray of sunlight lay an arrow wrapped about with  the dried skin of a rattlesnake.